This invention relates to livestock and more particularly to an apparatus for restraining an animal such as a cow from kicking.
In the handling of livestock, particularly cows, kicking presents a problem to an attendant who is required to handle the animal during various procedures such as milking or the like. Various efforts have been made in the past to restrain such kicking by animals through the use of hobbles or the like which have not obtained the desired degree of success. However, it has been recognized that anatomically a constant pressure exerted on the back of the animal just behind the withers is most effective in restricting the kicking tendencies of the animal. With this in mind, various structures have been proposed by means of which a restraining element is positioned in contact with the cow's back to prevent it from kicking. Such prior art devices have only acheived a limited degree of success since they are complicated and therefore of high cost construction. In general, they are difficult to install and require excessive time and considerable skill to manipulate as well as being of limited effectiveness with respect to resisting the forces which can be exerted by an animal such as a cow against any restraint.